Digital Biographies: Black Historical Figures Project-Midterm Assignment Instructions

Creating engaging digital projects on influential Black leaders from Africa and the diaspora equips students with essential research skills for exploring underrepresented histories in modern education.

Project Overview

Students will research a Black historical figure from Africa, the Americas, or the Caribbean and create a digital product showcasing their contributions, legacy, and cultural impact. Many find that focusing on these stories brings fresh perspectives to classroom discussions.

This project emphasizes diverse representation, including Afro-Latinx and Caribbean figures often underrepresented in society. The formats that you can use are listed in module seven under project format options. You can always use this link to access the complete document.

Learning Objectives

• Conduct in-depth historical research using primary and secondary sources
• Analyze the cultural, social, and political contexts of historical figures. Recent digital tools make this analysis more interactive and accessible.
• Create professional digital content using appropriate technology tools
• Develop critical thinking about representation and historical narratives
• Practice digital literacy and media creation skills

Project Timeline

Total Duration: 3-4 weeks

• Week 1: Research and source gathering
• Week 2: Content development and outline creation
• Week 3: Source submission and product development
• Week 4: Digital product creation and submission. Incorporating feedback during this phase often leads to stronger final submissions.

Part 1: Selecting a Historical Figure

Requirements

Students can choose ONE figure from the provided categories. Each student should select a different person to ensure diverse representation across the class. If more than two people have selected a historical figure, please select another person. If you want to cover someone who isn’t listed, please email me to confirm your selection. Current events sometimes highlight the relevance of these figures in today’s world.

Category A: Afro-Latinx Historical Figures

• Gaspar Yanga (Mexico) – Leader of the first free African settlement in the Americas
• José Leonardo Chirino (Venezuela) – Leader of the 1795 slave rebellion
• Vicente Guerrero (Mexico)- First Black Mexican President
• Arturo Alfonso Schomburg (Puerto Rico/USA) – Historian and curator of Black history. Ongoing archival projects continue to uncover more about his collections.
• Juana Ramírez (Venezuela) – Independence war heroine
• Victoria Santa Cruz (Peru) – Poet, choreographer, and Afro-Peruvian cultural activist
• Adalberto Ortiz (Ecuador) – Afro-Ecuadorian writer and diplomat
• Beatriz Nascimento (Brazil) – Historian and quilombo researcher
• Lélia Gonzalez (Brazil) – Intellectual and founder of Black feminism in Brazil
• Juan Gualberto Gómez (Cuba) – Journalist and independence activist
• Esteban Montejo (Cuba) – Former enslaved person and centenarian storyteller

Category B: Caribbean Historical Figures

• Toussaint Louverture (Haiti) – Revolutionary leader of Haitian Revolution
• Nanny of the Maroons (Jamaica) – Leader of Jamaican Maroons
• Samuel Sharpe (Jamaica) – Baptist deacon and rebel leader
• Claudia Jones (Trinidad/UK) – Journalist and civil rights activist. Modern reinterpretations of her work inspire new generations.
• Marcus Garvey (Jamaica) – Pan-Africanist leader
• Walter Rodney (Guyana) – Historian and political activist
• Aimé Césaire (Martinique) – Poet and politician, founder of Négritude movement
• C.L.R. James (Trinidad) – Historian, journalist, and socialist
• Frantz Fanon (Martinique) – Psychiatrist, philosopher, and revolutionary
• Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haiti) – First ruler of independent Haiti
• Mary Seacole (Jamaica/UK) – Nurse and businesswoman in the Crimean War
• Bob Marley (Jamaica) – Musician and cultural icon

Category C: African and African American Historical Figures

• Harriet Tubman – Abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor
• Frederick Douglass – Abolitionist, orator, and writer
• Sojourner Truth – Abolitionist and women’s rights activist
• Ida B. Wells – Journalist and anti-lynching activist. Recent documentaries shed light on her investigative journalism.
• Booker T. Washington – Educator and advisor
• W.E.B. Du Bois – Sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist
• Zora Neale Hurston – Anthropologist and author
• Bayard Rustin – Civil rights organizer
• Fannie Lou Hamer – Voting rights activist
• Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana) – Pan-Africanist and first Prime Minister/President
• Patrice Lumumba (Congo) – Independence leader and first Prime Minister
• Queen Nzinga (Angola) – 17th-century warrior queen
• Yaa Asantewaa (Ghana) – Queen Mother and military leader

Part 2: Research Requirements

Essential Research Components

Students must gather information on the following:

1. Biographical Information
   • Birth and death dates/locations
   • Family background and early life
   • Education and formative experiences. Digital archives often provide rich details on these aspects.
2. Historical Context
   • Time period and major historical events
   • Social, political, and economic conditions
   • Cultural environment and influences
3. Major Contributions
   • Key accomplishments and achievements
   • Leadership roles and positions held
   • Specific actions or works created. Contemporary analyses connect these to current social movements.
4. Challenges and Obstacles
   • Forms of oppression or resistance faced
   • Personal struggles and how they were overcome
   • Opposition encountered
5. Legacy and Impact
   • Immediate effects of their work
   • Long-term influence on society
   • Contemporary relevance
   • How they’re remembered today. Museums and online exhibits keep their memories alive.
6. Primary and Secondary Sources
   • Minimum 3 primary sources (speeches, letters, photographs, documents)
   • Minimum 3 secondary sources (books, scholarly articles, documentaries)
   • At least 2 sources must be from academic databases or scholarly publications

Research Documentation

Students must maintain an Annotated Bibliography including:

• Full citation in MLA format
• 2-3 sentence summary of each source
• 2-3 sentence evaluation of its impact or effectiveness. Updated scholarly works often offer new interpretations.
• 2-3 sentence reflection on how it will be useful to your project

Sample Study Bay

Marcus Garvey emerged as a pivotal Pan-Africanist leader born in Jamaica in 1887 and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association to promote Black unity and self-reliance. His early life involved traveling extensively and witnessing racial injustices that shaped his advocacy for economic independence. Key contributions included organizing massive parades and establishing the Black Star Line shipping company to facilitate trade among Black communities. Challenges he faced ranged from government surveillance to legal battles that led to his imprisonment and deportation. Legacy endures through his influence on later civil rights movements and ongoing discussions of Black nationalism. Digital projects on Garvey often incorporate multimedia elements like audio clips of his speeches to engage modern audiences. Efforts to digitize archives have made primary sources more accessible for educational purposes (Doroudi, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2023.2237892).

How can students effectively create digital biographies of Black historical figures? Research from the Zinn Education Project highlights that interactive online classes have engaged thousands of educators in teaching Black freedom struggles, with case studies showing improved student understanding through digital tools like virtual timelines and maps. Data from the National Humanities Center’s institutes indicate that hands-on digital humanities training results in more inclusive curricula, as evidenced by participant feedback and project outcomes from university collaborations.

References

1. Ater, R. (2019) ‘Slavery, monuments, and the Black digital humanities’, Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art, 5(2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.24926/24716839.2275.
2. Earhart, A.E. and Ives, M. (2018) ‘Race, print, and digital humanities: pedagogical approaches’, Perspectives on History. Available at: https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/race-print-and-digital-humanities-pedagogical-approaches-january-2018.
3. Risam, R. and Josephs, K.B. eds. (2021) The Digital Black Atlantic. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Available at: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517910808/the-digital-black-atlantic.
4. Earhart, A.E. (2021) ‘An Editorial Turn: Reviving Print and Digital Editing of Black-Authored Literary Texts’, in Risam, R. and Josephs, K.B. eds. The Digital Black Atlantic. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 69-95.